The Australian Sex party campaigning in 2010. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

While Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott jostle to win the prime ministership on 7 September, voters could be forgiven for forgetting about the array of choices they are going to be presented with on election day. The Senate ballot paper is going to be teeming with small special interest parties and for many of them this is going to the be the first election they have contested as a registered party. Here we give a taste of the variety of platforms being campaigned on.

The party thinks the quality of Australian lives is being degraded by the population growing by 1,000 people per day. The party says Australians have a right to choose their population and could do this by introducing policies which cut off government payments to families after they have two children, reviewing the status of New Zealand residents in Australia and adopting a “one in, one out” approach to migration which takes into account Australian birth rates.

The major parties have targeted smokers unfairly with excessive taxes and restrictions on smoking, according to the party. It wants to give a voice to smokers and is campaigning on stopping planned tobacco tax increases, getting rid of plain packaging and allowing retailers to display tobacco the way they want to.

The name is derived from the notion primary school captains are elected around the world on promises to put “Coke in the bubblers” and current politicians are focused on the same kind of “promise short and sell long” mentality. The party is demanding data-driven and evidence-based policy and wants to engage with any party which is seeking the “best policy settings” for Australia.

The party is campaigning for high-speed rail for the east coast of Australia, from Brisbane to Melbourne, which would include stations in the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra, Wollongong, the Southern Highlands and Albury. The train would travel at speeds of up to 250km per hour and the party argues it is much more efficient and environmentally friendly than driving or flying.

The party is campaigning on minimal government control over outdoor recreation and has roots in the NSW four-wheel-driving community. The party does not want public land “locked away for a privileged few” and thinks all land should be accessible by boat, plane, vehicle, horse and foot.

The party was formed in May in Queensland and is fighting state and federal government regulation that relates to cars and has vowed to fight any discrimination against the motoring enthusiast community. Among its core values is the belief the government should be “servants to the will of the people”.

The party believes in protecting Australia’s identity, culture and heritage by limiting immigration to Australia, putting tariffs on cheap imports and allowing the average citizen to initiate referendums. The party wants a “one in, one out” immigration policy where for every citizen that leaves another is allowed in. The immigrants should be from “traditional sources” such as Britain and Europe “to enable a homogeneous society where we can all live in harmony, free from the ethnic and racial strife caused by social engineering experiments like multiculturalism”.

The party’s mission is to provide all Australians with an opportunity to be involved with sport and exercise to “transform their lives” and make health living a part of Australian culture. The party aims to provide free sports and exercise areas for all Australians regardless of location, sex, age or culture.

Australian Voice party

Registered: July 2013

Slogan: It’s your country, your voice, your choice

Website: www.av.org.au

The Australian Voice party is worried about “spiralling living costs, illegal immigrants and food security” among other concerns. It wants to see major reforms to create a more effective parliament but promises members will always be able to vote in accordance with the wishes of the majority of their electorate.

The infamous party has been quite vocal in federal and state elections since its inception four years ago. It campaigns on behalf of sex workers but also wants marijuana legalised and regulated and voluntary euthanasia introduced. The party also wants personal drug use decriminalised and same-sex marriage supported in legislation.